Saturday night, my friend from my original puzzle club and I decided to make some plans to hang out. We hadn’t seen each other since my wedding, so it was long overdue.
When deciding what to do, we were discussing maybe going out to a restaurant or bar or something… but decided to stay in and puzzle for some frugal fun.
Our evening consisted of a puzzle (that made the transition from my parents’ basement to my house before they moved…), two bottles of Prosecco wine (yes, two ladies drank two bottles – we had fun!), a bowl of popcorn and some Hershey’s kisses.
Let’s compare what we would have spent if we had gone out for the night…
First the entertainment… while I’m sure we probably could have just gone to a restaurant or pub with no cover, let’s say that we decided to go to a movie, or a comedy show, or something similar… That would probably run us at least $10 each, so $20. That compared to the free entertainment provided by my parents’ basement…
Two bottles of Prosecco would be the equivalent of about 10 restaurant drinks… Assuming an average price for a drink at a restaurant or bar being around $6-$8, that would have cost us at least $60-$80, probably more with taxes and tip. I’m not sure what the bottle of Prosecco that my friend brought cost her, but the bottle that I had was “free” because it was leftover from a baby shower I hosted the other weekend (which reminds me, I wanted to post some of the fun stuff I did from that… okay, post idea noted… will try to get that written up this week…) Anyway, back to the Prosecco, let’s say that each bottle was $15 for an easy number… that’s a total of only $30.
Now for the snacks… If we had ended up at a restaurant or pub, we probably would have each ordered at least an appetizer for a snack. Depending on where we went, that could range from $10 to $30, but let’s say we went “frugal” and only ordered $15 appies, each… so $30. And then, we wanted a little something sweet to end the night off, and shared a dessert for another $15… our food total would come to $45. Compared to the popcorn… a tiny portion of a $3 bag or popcorn kernels, plus maybe $0.50 of oil, butter, salt, etc. I’m thinking that it would probably come under $1. Then a small portion half of a bag Hershey’s kisses (again leftovers from the baby shower) would be about $2.
Let’s total that all up:
| Restaurant | Home | |
|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | $20 | Free |
| Drinks | $80 | $30 |
| Food | $45 | $3 |
| Total | $145 | $33 |
So, by staying in and puzzling on Saturday night, my friend and I saved over $100.
How do you keep your entertainment costs down? Do you puzzle at home on Saturday nights?
All-Round Better Me 
Fantastic! I love puzzling as well, that’s so relaxing somehow… Back in the days I used to go out a whole lot I took my own drink with me (water) which I refilled in the bathroom (…with tapwater…) so there was no cost in drinks anyhow 😉 If you don’t smoke nor like alcoholic beverages, you save yourself a whole big deal again. And if you were very lucky, you caught an event that was for free (or snuck in if you were even luckier *g*), so my nights out only used to cost me the train tickets (if you were willing to pay them… 😉 ) Ok I’ll stop – this sheds a bad light towards me 😀
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